Happy New Year!

I’d tell you about the wild party, with amazing cocktails and incredible food, but… I’ll be honest.  After the kids were in bed, my husband and I enjoyed an assortment of store bought appetizers.  He had a beer, I had a local rose wine and topped it off with Christmas chocolate.  Then we went to bed.  We did see 2013 come in, but without any sparkly ball drop or television commentary of any kind.  This is typically how we ring in the new year.  And it’s exactly what we wanted to do.

What I’m eating

While I don’t make resolutions for the new year, I do enjoy riding a wave of inspiration to eat well for as long as it lasts.  Holiday eating isn’t necessarily excessive, but it’s isn’t necessarily healthy either.  Coupled with my new toy camera, I’ve decided to let this inspiration be the catalyst for a new series of posts as the year moves forward.  Food based, but not specifically recipe driven.  I get to play with the camera, practising and honing what skill I have, and I get to document what I’m enjoying, share what I’m eating and create a visual diary of a different aspect of my journey with food.

Golden beets, ready to roast with a little salt, pepper & coconut oil. Wrapped in foil, they cook at 400F until tender – about an hour

Roasted Beet Salad

Before Christmas I’d made something similar to this salad for a potluck.  Roasted beets, tender  greens, pecans (candied for the party) and Feta cheese.  I pulled out the few that remained and roasted them this morning.  I prefer the flavour of golden beets.  They remind me of the sweetest corn on the cob, and taste far less “earthy” (like dirt) than their red counterparts.  I also got to use a very special vinegar.  It’s called Sweet Sunrise and it’s a truly artisinal product, made by my friend, Roger, and is darling wife, Joyce.  Together they are Mr. Vinegar, and their product is a line of premium vinegars that are truly wonderful.

Better food, better choices

To go with my salad, I chose to heat up a few mini quiches leftover from our appetizer binge.  Normally I’d just heat up half a dozen (or more) and have them on their own.  Hello salt overload.  But with lovely greens and freshly roasted beets, along with Roger’s honey-sweet vinegar (and a little Braggs cider vinegar to cut it), I was inspired not to over indulge.  And that’s what truly good food does.  It inspires.  My 5 year old daughter was so inspired, she ate a bowl of the beets with the cider vinegar as a snack.